Ever heard of Red Tea, known also as Rooibos tea (pronounced like “roy-bos”)?  It means Red Bush in Afrikaan.  Is a natually caffeine free herbal tea.  But its different from all those fruity (read acidy) herbal teas.  It comes in different flavors (my favorite is Good Cape Hope Vanilla by The Republic of Tea.)  It tastes richer than other herbal tea so you don’t feel quite as cheated when you can’t have a cup of coffee.  Drink it English style wiht a little milk or cream, yum!

I know, its still not coffee.  But, seriously, give it a try if you need  a substitute warm morning drink.  Yum!

With the onset of middle age I’ve had an increase in stomach fat.  In fact it seems that all of my weight gain has been through my middle.  Most of what you read says this is not good from the perspective of many diseases (heart disease, diabetes, etc.)  I am also wondering if the increased fat may be contributing to GERD symptoms.

My GERD started right about the time I started putting on more stomach fat.  This was the kind of fat that is around the internal organs, not just a spare tire.   I was scheduled to go to a dietician anyway for a slightly elevated cholesterol level.  So, I asked her about eating to get rid of stomach fat.  She gave me lots of good advice.  It seems that the cholesterol lowering diet is also very effective at getting rid of the dreaded stomach fat.

So, I’m 2 weeks into eating healthier.  I’ve had absolutely no fast food (a big weakness of mine since I dont’ like to cook) and I’m eating a lot more fruits and vegetables and less meat.  So, we’ll see how it goes.

I’m interested in hearing if any of you noticed your GERD symptoms reduce when you lost weight?

Slowly, over time, I’ve discovered little things (diet-wise) I can get away with.  Its good news on the one hand and not so good on the other.  I now know what causes only mild problems for me and I’m over eating those things.  Because of that, I’ve gained back all 15 lbs that I lost after my original diagnosis.  The weight is bad enough.  But the extra pounds have worsened my symptoms.    So, I’ve come full circle.  I need to know take my own advice and dial back my eating and stop eating the things that I know will cause issues. 

Its been weird.  Every since I’ve started eating things I shouldn’t have, I’ve become like a food addict.  I really crave ice cream, pizza and all kinds of fattening foods.   I ate 2 bowls of ice cream one night!! 

Be forewarned, don’t even get started ‘pigging out’ like I have.  It will only make you miserable.

I haven’t had any alcohol since July 2008 when I was diagnosed with GERD.  Its always been something I could give or take.  However, I did enjoy a nice glass of wine or a marguerita with the girls periodically.  Once I had things a little bit under control (last month) I decided to try a glass of white wine.  Wow, big mistake.  It really burned!  So,  I assumed that alcohol was permanently out of the picture.

This weekend I was out with a friend for dinner and decided I would try a marguerita.  It was probably a dumb move because it is alcohol AND a citrus base.  But, I was pleasantly suprised that I had no bad reaction at all.  Mind you, I only drank one and I didn’t drink it until after I’d eaten a portion of my dinner.  I was really pleased that I may be able to celebrate with friends every once in a while without suffering all night for it.

Remember, everyone is different and this might not work out for you.  But, like everything else in this journey, its trial and error.

Cheers!

I went to my doctor today with excitement in my step.  I was going to finally get a perscription for the GERD medicine that works best for me.  As I said in my previous post, I tried ALL the different meds available due to the generosity of my doctor and her samples.  Prevacid was the winner.  But there was a big BUT.  United Healthcare won’t cover Prevacid.  They only cover:

•  Aciphex which only comes in a 20 mg version and stops working by mid-afternoon
• Zegerid which has sodium bicarbonate in it that makes my fingers swell and it makes me constipated
• Protonix which didn’t work at all.  I might has well have taken a sugar pill.
• a generic form of Zegerid without the sodium bicarbonate which dulled the pain a bit but also quit working by mid-afternoon.

So, the doctors want me to take Prevacid to avoid damaging my esophagus (which can lead to cancer.)  But the phone clerks who think they are doctors at United Healthcare disagree.  They told me I could take it by buying it at 100% retail ($159 for a 30 day supply).  Yeah, right.  They say that all the drugs have the same effect.  Then why didn’t the others work as well as Prevacid?

So, I’m pricing it in Canada.  So far, the cheapest price is $59.95 for a 30 day supply which is about $10 more a month than I would have to pay for one of the other meds.  If I can work out buying from Canada, I might be OK.

Well, I think I’ve tried all the PPI’s now.  My gastro gave me 10 day samples of each brand to try.  She wanted to help me figure out which wone worked the best so that I could possible save some money.  I had been taking Zegerid to help with GERD and cure an ulcer.  It worked great on my ulcer, but made it hard to “go” if you know what I mean. 

I’ve now tried Prevacid, Aciphex, Zegerid, Protonix, Nexium and Zegerid.  Protonix was the worst.  It was as if I wasn’t taking anything and I had this wierd side effect of twitching eyelids.  Prevacid was the best.  I tried it next to last and really wish I had tried it earlier!  Then I spoiled a good thing and tried Protonix last.  Yikes!  So, on Monday I go back to the doc to get a new perscription for Prevacid.

Don’t assume that you’ll have a bad reaction to Protonix.  But, I have heard a lot of people say it didn’t work for them.  Everyone is different.  I have hope that one day I’ll get off meds all togther.  Maybe I’m dreaming.  But, at least, for now, I have something that works really good for me.

Lately, I’ve started getting hits on several of my blogs from a site caled Alphainventions.com. Evidently, it picks up recently updated blogs somehow and has a running window that displays blogs. Pretty cool. If you have a blog, check it out

If you are cooking for the family and the meat dish isn’t exactly GERD friendly, I have an idea for you.  This also works for anyone who is cooking for one and is a bit lazy about cooking.  What’s the idea?  Shrimp!

Most mainline grocery stores ( I use Kroger) or gourmet food stores (Whole Foods, Fresh Market) carry frozen jumbo shrimp that you can buy by the pound.  Now, I’m not talking about the prepackaged kind next to the fish sticks (yuck!)  These are flash frozen and when thawed properly are not mushy at all.  Bring them home and store them in a freezer bag in the freezer and thaw a few at a time for the protein portion of your meal.  You can also throw them into pasta dishes at the last minute to add some protein.  Caution:  if you cook them with the sauce from the beginning they, like any shrimp, can get tough.

Of course if you don’t like shrimp…..  sorry about that!

You’ve probably already experienced it, even if you don’t realize it.  Stress makes GERD worse!  Heck just thinking about GERD can make it worse.  Its a viscious cycle.  So, lets talk about some ideas for reducing stress.

EXERCISE:

• Walking:  this is one of the easiest forms of exercise.  It requires no special equipment beyond a good walking shoe and you don’t have to have an expensive gym membership!  Walking in yhour own neighborhood is just fine.  Just do it every day.  A 20 minute walk each day can do wonders for your stress as well as your waistline.  You’ll probably find yourself wanting to do more than 20 minutes.  Try to vary the path you take each day to keep from getting bored.  If you have a mp3 player or iPod, load some peppy music to it and take it along.  Upbeat music helps you keep your stride at a healthy pace.  For more ideas and information on the joy of walking, visit the Discover Walking website.
• Yoga:  Yoga provides a nice, calming meditative exercise that increases your range of motion and concentrates on regular and deep breathing techniques.  Admittedly, there are some yoga poses that someone with severe GERD would not want to attempt since they put pressure on the stomach and turn you almost upside down.  But, a good instructor can help you by pointing out which moves should not be attempted and caution you in class when they come to one of those moves.  If you don’t want to spend the money for a class, pick up a good yoga DVD and follow along.  Many libraries have them to rent.
• Tai Chi:  Tai chi uses gentle flowing movements to reduce the stress.   WebMD states that it is best explained as “meditation in motion.”  Many of the elderly are finding Tai Chi an excellent way to stay flexible and relaxed.

LIFE ADJUSTMENTS:

• Ask for help:  Sometimes we just can’t do everything ourselves.  If overload is causing you stress, ask friends and family for help.  Sometimes help is just having someone to listen to your problems.  Take time to look inside yourself and consider the fact that you may be the kind of personality that takes on much more than they need to.  Meditation
• Healthy diet:  This site talks about the foods that are known to cause issues for GERD sufferers.  But,  you owe it to your self to take it a step further and create balance in your diet as you do in your health and spirit.  Even with GERD you can eat many healthy foods.  Enjoy variety and nutrition and avoid vitamin deficiencies.

After struggling with various slant pillows for months I finally went to look at adjustable beds. I had trouble with sliding down off the slant pillows, back pain from the pressure on my tailbone and sliding down the mattress when I had blocks under the feet of the bed.  So, I decided to look into adjustable beds.

I always thought adjustable beds were only for the elderly. But, these are actually now sort of a luxury item. I’m not talking about the sleep number kind of bed. This is a bed that can have the head and/or foot of the mattress raised electronically. Once you find the right sleeping position you can lock it into memory on the remote. So, you might have the head raised real high to read or watch TV. Then, when you are ready to sleep you just hit the memory button and it adjusts to your sleeping position.

These aren’t cheap! But, for me it was worth the money. It has given me a more comfortable night’s sleep and reduced my night time reflux.

Caution! When you shop for these beds be sure you understand the return policy and the warranty. Many retail stores charge a restocking fee.